Day Four - Sunday December 6th, 2009

Outside of our soccer itinerary, last night after the games we went to the US Airways Arena in downtown Phoenix to see the Suns play against the Sacramento Kings. In a tightly played contest the Suns prevailed 107-115. Steve Nash is quite a player to see live and it is hard to belive that Grant Hill is still around. It seemed like the boys enjoyed the game even if we were about 150 rows up! We arrived back at the hotel at about 10:45pm and it was straight to bed.

Today is our day off. The boys generally slept in but most made it to breakfast by 9:30am. We had a team meeting to discuss the expectations of the day and during which it was time to introduce a new part of our Academy program – STUDY HALL! This part of the program will be introduced on all our road trips. Players will study for a certain amount of time during our away trips. It may be at the hotel or on the bus when the TVs are all turned off. Today it was from 10:30-12pm in each room with Ipods and TVs off. Players need to remember to bring their school books on every trip from now on!

After the study hall the players were allowed to hang out in Old Town Scottsdale for a couple of hours and eat lunch prior to leaving for the Reach 11 Complex. Both teams watched Austin Yearwood play in the 1994 Select Team game against Los Angeles FC Chelsea. The result was a 2-2 draw with Austin assisting on the second goal. After the game it was back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner at Outback. The boys had either steak or chicken with potatoes and a salad or vegetables. Only water to drink! We finished off the night with team meetings for each team. We talked about Derby County Wolves from Michigan, the club we play tomorrow, the rest the boys need tonight and the importance of the last game of the showcase. We are all looking forward to the morning and the chance to play against one of the best clubs in the US Soccer Development Academy program.